Daniel Cormier inks new contract, eyes Frank Mir and dual-division run in UFC

This past weekend Strikeforce heavyweight-grand-prix champion Daniel Cormier signed a new contract that paves his way to the UFC.

Now, Cormier (10-0 MMA, 7-0 SF) just has to beat Dion Staring (28-7 MMA, 0-0 SF) at Strikeforce’s final event, which takes place Jan. 12 on his alma mater’s home turf.

If Cormier is successful, which is widely expected to be the case, he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he’d like to fight Frank Mir inside the UFC octagon in April.

Cormier, who said his new deal is a “shorter contract,” recently received a text message from a friend alerting him to a respectful callout from Mir on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight.”

“So I go, ‘OK, Frank Mir and I are going to fight, then,'” said the Olympian and Oklahoma State University grad, who co-headlines the “Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” event with Staring at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. (Main-card fights air on Showtime following prelims on Showtime Extreme.)

Cormier and Mir previously were scheduled to meet at an ill-fated Strikeforce event in September. Mir, who had previously lost a title bid against UFC champ Junior Dos Santos, was tapped to be the first and only UFC-to-Strikeforce import. But Mir withdrew due to a knee injury, and the event was canceled when a replacement couldn’t be found (and other injuries scrapped other headliners).

At this point, Cormier hoped to be fighting at this weekend’s UFC 155 event beside his teammate and former UFC champion, Cain Velasquez, who aims to win back the belt when he rematches Dos Santos in the event’s headliner.

Instead, Cormier anticipates a longer road to the top after seeing the Mir fight fizzle.

“I could have said, ‘I deserve to get a title shot right when I get there,’ but it goes back to Dion Staring,” he said. “After Dion, I don’t it puts me in a position to ask for an immediate title shot.”

And then there’s the question of what happens when he gets to the top if he and Velasquez are successful. Fighting teammates is unacceptable for the two, who are longtime members of the San Jose, Calif. gym, American Kickboxing Academy.

Cormier said he plans to avoid the issue by continually moving between the heavyweight and light-heavyweight divisions.

“I want to try to leave my mark on the sport,” he said. “I’m older, I started late, and imagine in this day and age a guy going up and down and being successful. That would make a mark, I think.”

And the tourney champ also has ambitious plans for 2013. After canceled events and contract negotiations dwindled his schedule to a single fight this year, he’d like to compete four times in the next 12 months.

“It’s great to have some time to sharpen up my skills … but I would much rather be a little busier now because I’m at a point in my career where I’ve got to fighting three or four times a year,” he said.

Cormier, though, is aware of the pitfalls of overconfidence. He admits he was surprised when Strikeforce parent Zuffa proposed Staring as an opponent, and he knew of the fighter only through a teammate who was supposed to fight him. But he is preparing himself for a tough opponent.

“There’s just too many ways to lose this fight,” he said. “You can actually lose this fight and win at the same time, so it’s a tough situation.”

But he sees a clear roadmap for the immediate future.

“What’s going to happen is Cain is going to win this weekend, I’m going to win in January … and (Alistair) Overeem’s going to fight Cain,” Cormier said.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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